


Penpals

by humandoodad



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Gen, a mention of Betty Ross, penpals, tags will be added as needed
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-01
Updated: 2014-07-01
Packaged: 2018-02-06 23:28:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 1,448
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1876566
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/humandoodad/pseuds/humandoodad
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>Darcy's penpal's name is Jemma and apparently she likes snails.</i>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>A series of small (unbeta'd) ficlets about Darcy and Jemma being penpals and buddies.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Snails and Pro Wrestling

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by [this post on tumblr](http://fuckyeahdarcylewis.tumblr.com/post/87901175912/au-jemma-simmons-darcy-lewis-have-been-penpals) and thus also [this one](http://blandmarvelheadcanons.tumblr.com/post/87533814565/jemma-simmons-and-darcy-lewis-were-penpals-in).
> 
> \--updated 2/17/2016 only to replace a broken link with one likely to be more stable (linked post is not the originator of the gif set but does link back to the original creator and will do so even if they change their tumblr name again, unlike if I were to link directly)--

When Darcy is in 5th grade, her teacher is from England and sounds like Mary Poppins. Sadly, this turns out less magical than Darcy imagined on her first day of class; there is no magic bag or dancing around inside a cartoon land, but Ms. Smythe is still pretty awesome in an average teacher sort of way. Right after Christmas break, she tells them that she has a friend back in England who is also a teacher of kids around their age and everyone gets a brand spanking new English penpal. 

Darcy's penpal's name is Jemma and apparently she likes snails. Darcy herself is pretty indifferent about snails, but is super duper into professional wrestling, so she figures she can't judge. When Jemma writes back, it's like three pages all about muscle mass and endorphins and steroids on top of two pages more about snails. It turns out that Jemma isn't actually in Ms. Smythe's friend's class because she's way smart, but they gave her a penpal anyway because Ms. Smythe's friend is her neighbor and thought she might like it.

So Darcy has the best, coolest penpal of all of the 5th graders, pretty much, and now when she watches wrestling she can think about endorphins, which she pictures as tiny dolphins swimming around inside their body like the Magic School Bus did, because endorphins make you happy and so do dolphins.


	2. Professor Basil Hottiesworth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In which Darcy could type and spell well, but chooses not to. She has her own email domain though, heck yeah.

When Darcy's teacher stopped paying for postage, they switched to email, which is much quicker than the Royal Post anyway and Jemma appreciates the efficiency, although she did enjoy the timelessness of writing things longhand. She and Darcy send emails back and forth at least once a week and much more often when there is a crisis. Darcy wants them to IM as well, but even at thirteen, Jemma is only allowed one hour of non-educational computer use a day and time zones make the likelihood of them being online at the same time minuscule at best.

> To: Jemma Simmons [jemjems@darcyworld.com]  
>  From: queen darcy [queendarcy@darcyworld.com]  
>  Subject: re: S.O.S.
> 
> yo did u c hottie prof 2day?? i bet hes way foxy. basil is a herb, right? so hes spicy!! u should take a pic and send it!!
> 
> i got detention 2day 4 punching maria tomasson in the tit, but josh was there too cuz he 4got his health txtbook and they r real down on that shit. hes so fuxking hot, u dont even know.
> 
> xoxoxoxoxoxoxo!!
> 
> \------  
>  ~*~*~*~BOW DOWN TO YOUR QUEEN~*~*~*~
> 
> DON'T PANIC

 

> To: queen darcy [queendarcy@darcyworld.com]  
>  From: Jemma Simmons [jemjems@darcyworld.com]  
>  Subject: re: re: S.O.S.
> 
> Dearest Darcy,
> 
> I only see Professor Hollingsworth on Thursdays, more's the pity! Basil IS the name of the herb Ocimum basilicum, which is in the same family as mints (Lamiaceae). I have taken to doodling basil leaves in my microbiology notes as a covert way of expressing my affection for him. I could not possibly dare to take a photo of him, but I will say that he bears a passing resemblance to Alan Rickman in Emma Thompson's Sense and Sensibility. If you haven't seen it, do. I think you would like the character of Marianne a great deal.
> 
> Perhaps YOU should take a photo of Josh so I could know how hot he is. Though if he's worth getting detention for, he must be very special indeed.
> 
> The agar I poured must be nearly set by now, so I must go. So many bacteria cultures to grow, so little time!
> 
> Warmest regards,  
>  Jemma
> 
> \------  
>  _It seems to me that the natural world is the greatest source of excitement; the greatest source of visual beauty; the greatest source of intellectual interest. It is the greatest source of so much in life that makes life worth living._ -Sir David Attenborough


	3. Lady Scientist Fan Club Membership

Darcy gets accepted to Culver University and Jemma geeks out for like a month straight over Doctor Banner and Doctor Ross. Like seriously, the emails she sends are like 300 mb worth of pure Jemma Nerdsplosion. It's totally adorable and mostly incomprehensible. Dr. Banner isn't at the school anymore, of course, because he, like, almost blew it up or something, but Dr. Ross is, so for Christmas, Darcy hunts her down.

The biology building, for the record, is way cool. Darcy takes a trillion pictures with her phone for Jemma of all the crazy diagrams hanging on the walls and the skeletons and stuffed animals (taxodermy stuffed, not teddy bear stuffed) in display cases. She made sure to look up Dr. Ross' office hours, so there are a couple other students waiting in the hallway too.

"Hey," The dude among them, who Darcy has mentally dubbed Douchey McDudebro because, hello, two polo shirts with popped collars, smiles at her. Or her boobs. Probably her boobs. "Are you in three-thirteen too?"

"Nope. The only science I'm taking right now is Computer. And let me tell you-- Boring. Two thumbs way down, do not recommend if you have any clue how to code. I should have tried to, like, test out or something. Plus it's like seventy-five percent mouthbreathers. Ten to one mouthbreather to cool people ratio." The three baby bio students are all staring at her now. She gives them her brightest smile. "So. Is Dr. Ross cool? I got this scientific journal here that has an article she wrote and I'm gonna ask her to sign it." She held up her pristine copy of the American Society for Microbiology's _Molecular and Cellular Biology_. "For a friend, who actually understands all this stuff. Soooo... yeah." They were all still staring.

"That's... kind of sweet," one of the girls says finally and Darcy grins at her.

"I know, right?"

Dr. Ross, by the way, is super friendly and super gorgeous when it's Darcy's turn to meet her. She even lets Darcy take a picture of her holding the signed journal. It's too bad she doesn't teach any intro level bio stuff or Darcy would so be there for the science credits she needs to graduate. She'd like to show her support for nice lady scientists, because Darcy knows from Jemma that lady scientists totally don't get as much respect as they should. 

Plus, she could ask Jemma for help with homework and she'd basically do it all for Darcy without even meaning to.


	4. West Meets Further West

"I'm too dressed up. I shouldn't have worn this blouse." Jemma grasps Fitz's arm with both hands and stares up at him imploringly. "Fitz, what if she doesn't like me?"

Fitz sighs heavily and, well, fair enough. Jemma _has_ asked that same question at least a dozen times since she and Darcy set a day and time to meet. It had been so thrilling, when Jemma moved to America to go to the SHIELD Academy and they were actually on the same continent for the first time. Darcy had immediately started saving up to come visit because she took summers off from schooling, whereas Jemma would still be in classes, of course. It had seemed like such a wonderful idea at the time, finally seeing each other in person, but now Jemma is all nerves.

"Anyone who doesn't like you is either jealous or an idiot," Fitz, dear, dear Fitz, tells her, stoutly loyal as always. She's so glad she'd brought him along as moral support.

"She published a zine in high school, Fitz. All by herself! It was so clever. I have a copy somewhere back at home. I ought to have brought it to the Academy with me. Last week, she used a fake ID to get into a bar and went _crowd surfing_. What did we do last week that compares?"

"I happen to think that inventing a synthetic dendrotoxin for our snake is much cooler than such... hooliganism."

"...It _was_ pretty great until Salazar bit Dr. Jitsakul. We really must adjust the dosage."

He waves a dismissive hand. "It wasn't deadly. I think the doctor may have been being overdramatic."

"The vasodilation--"

"HEL- _LO_ NURSE! Jemma, you're so cute!" Jemma realizes then that it may have been wise to show Fitz a picture of Darcy before giving them an in person introduction, because he's rapidly turning red and a bit bug-eyed in the face of her friend. It is gratifying to know that she was right, though, she is overdressed compared to Darcy's jeans and t-shirt ensemble. The t-shirt reads BLAMMO! and is so very Darcy that Jemma cannot help but smile as she is swept up in a hug. "No, seriously, you're so adorable I might die. Stop that."

She doesn't know why she was ever worried about Darcy liking her or visa versa though.


End file.
